"God is with us," more optimistic Ukraine's anthem version suggested
A petition has appeared on the website of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine proposing to change the text of the country's national anthem, making it "more optimistic." The corresponding appeal was published on the portal petition.kmu.gov.ua, and within three days it gathered around 2,000 signatures out of the 25,000 required for consideration.
The authors of the petition ask the Cabinet of Ministers to exercise its right of legislative initiative, provided for by Article 93 of the Constitution of Ukraine, and to submit to the Verkhovna Rada a draft of amendments to the law "On the State Anthem of Ukraine." The new text, as envisioned by the initiators, should place greater emphasis on victory, peace, unity, freedom, and the future of the state. The music by Mykhailo Verbytsky is proposed to remain unchanged.
It is stated that the initiators do not deny the historical significance of the current anthem. Nevertheless, in their opinion, the words about struggle and suffering should be replaced with lines about peace, love, and prosperity.
In particular, one of the verses of the proposed version reads as follows:
З нами Бог і благодать є у кожнім домі, Україна процвітає в мирі і любові. Чорне море так сміється, дід Дніпро радіє, І у нашій Україні доленька квітніє. (Eng.: God is with us, and His grace dwells in every home and place. Ukraine blooms in peace and love, blessed by blessings from above. The Black Sea laughs with shining cheer, grand old Dnipro smiles to hear; and throughout our Ukraine, fortune blooms like flowers again.)
The State Anthem of Ukraine set to music by Mykhailo Verbytsky has been used as a symbol of the country since 1917, and its final version was approved in 2003. The authors urge citizens to support the petition, emphasizing that the words repeated daily by millions of people shape the collective vision of the entire country's future.
As the UOJ reported, a petition to protect Christian shrines from desecration was previously launched in Ukraine.
